How to... Turn chefs into heroes

Rail operator LNER has boosted the role of its culinary experts with a new Hero Chefs initiative. Julie Baxter finds out more

PRIORITISE PASSION

LNER is constantly striving to change the perception of onboard rail catering by showcasing provenance and local suppliers. Its Hero Chefs initiative brings together the team’s passion for locally inspired dishes and the chefs who already cook freshly prepared food every day onboard.

IDENTIFY CHAMPIONS

Claire Ansley, customer experience director, explains: "The Hero Chef roles were open to all chefs currently working on the trains. We had a really positive response and selected eight linked to the regions across our route: North, South, Central and Scotland. They are all real foodies, follow the latest food trends and champion local produce, so our food will tell the story of our route.”

FOCUS ON FOOD

Each Hero Chef takes a particular lead on desserts, dinner, breakfast, snacks or sandwiches and supports the catering team developing exciting dishes using local products. Ansley adds: “We have a fantastic food story along the east coast mainline and our Hero Chefs are bringing this alive.”

SPREAD THE ENTHUSIASM

Alongside menu development, the Hero Chefs support other onboard chefs through coaching and mentoring, leading on in-house training and helping to develop a robust succession plan. It's an holistic approach to service delivery and will evolve in response to feedback.

MONITOR THE RESPONSE

Research, insights and social media monitoring allows LNER to spot changing food trends and demand. The team trials different dishes and styles of service to achieve accurate understanding, and adds products to reflect the season. Online preordering is available in standard class.

KEEP EVOLVING

Ansley is excited about the future too, adding: “Our new Azuma trains represent a great opportunity to build on what we’re already doing onboard and we are very excited about the future of catering, both onboard and in our First class lounges. We are passionate about our people and extremely proud of our Hero Chefs.” •